Mission

Since 1991, the Center for Slavic, Eurasian, and East European Studies (CSEEES) has promoted understanding of and engagement with East European and Eurasian countries. It has worked to enhance capacity to meet strategic U.S. needs through a variety of projects and activities: course development, instruction in area and language studies, faculty and student exchanges, public outreach, conferences, and workshops. The Center draws upon a broad base of support with 30 core faculty members who regularly teach courses and engage in research focused on Russia, East Europe, and Eurasia. From 1991 to 2014, in consortium with Duke University’s Center for Slavic, Eurasian, and East European Studies, the Center was recognized by the International Education Programs Service office of the U.S. Department of Education as one of sixteen National Resource Centers(NRC) in Slavic, Eurasian, and East European Studies.

Student Support And Instruction

The Center serves as a resource for faculty, graduate, and undergraduate students in diverse disciplines and promotes interdisciplinary knowledge. In addition to directly supporting teaching, research, and public outreach activities, the Center is home to the newly created Russian, Eurasian and East European Concentration in Global Studies MA Program. The MA degree combines learning of Slavic/East European languages (Russian, Czech, Hungarian, Polish, BCS) with a substantial number of courses that focus on the Russian, Eurasian, and East European geo-cultural area. Students work closely with the director, associate director, and affiliated faculty members of the Center in designing a course of study that best fits their academic interest and career goals. Graduates ﬁnd employment in the U.S. military and government, national and international nongovernmental organizations, and the private sector, or choose to continue their education.

The Center also enables research by providing resources to theDavis Libraryfor materials acquisition. The library’sSlavic and East European Collectionis one of the best in the nation with over 800,000 print volumes. The André Savine collection (acquired in 2002) provides a unique opportunity for scholarship on revolutionary and post­-revolutionary émigré culture and history, and documents from the Trans-Caspian Provisional Government (1918-1919).

To support an active, collaborative, scholarly community, the Center organizes conferences, workshops, and seminars to which both foreign and domestic scholars, diplomats, civic activists, and political leaders are invited as speakers on a variety of Slavic, Eurasian, and East European topics. Please visit our Events calendar for details.

Diversity Statement

Diversity is a critical element of Carolina’s pursuit of academic excellence, and CSEEES is committed to creating a diverse, inclusive community. In all of our activities, we strive to enhance U.S. national security and global competitiveness by promoting international service and awareness among a broad cross-section of the American citizenry.